Yours to remember
by essence-of-forever
Summary: She was his, his forever. when she was presumed dead Draco’s world shatters to pieces. Years later, the almost forever lonely Draco takes a quiet stroll down Muggle London, never expecting to gain his world back.
1. Prologue

Disclaimerà nothing's mine except for the plot. JKR owns it all.

A/Nà hey guys, this is my first story. Please R/R it would be real helpful. Also I'm looking for a BETA reader, so you are interested please email me. Essence_of_forever@hotmail.com

Summaryà The news of the death of the one girl he truly love shatters Draco's world. Years later, the almost forever lonely Draco Malfoy takes a stroll down the London street, never expecting to find what he lost five years ago.

.: **Prologue** :.

With an instant pop, the 23 years old Draco Malfoy diassaparated to somewhere in Muggle London. Within seconds, he arrived on a cold empty street. The cold harsh wind plunged at him in every direction, but the young wizard did not care, he had too much things on his mind. He slowly strolled down the dark street, thinking. 

It had been a whole good 20 minutes walking in the harsh wind before he arrived at the busy streets of London city. His chains of thoughts was immediately broken by the noises of everyday Muggle traffic jams. The sound of the car's forever beeping horns pierced his ears, making sure he lost his concentration. Draco looked up, it was the first time he had done so since he had started walking. His visions was filled with nothing more than the typical city scenery with the unblemished night lights from muggle stores, the forever going traffic & the typical muggles, filling up practically every inch of the walk path. It was after work, time for them to go home, a sweet home full of love.

"That is something I'll never have" muttered Draco, as he decided to walk on, hoping he could soon drop this very familiar yet forlorn feeling.  

It wasn't until Draco took the left turn onto a not so crowded street, that he could think again. He wanted to think, yet every time he did so, a forlorn feeling crept up his nerves. For the last five years, the feeling of despair kept coming back. There even had been times where he had broken down & cried. 

It was after 10 seconds when Draco realized that he accidentally bumped into a stranger, who was now bending down picking up the books she had dropped.

"Hey, I'm sorry didn't see you there" Draco said, bending down to help this stranger.

"It's ok, thanks" The girl said meeting Draco's lonely gray eyes before turning around to leave.

"Her eyes, the girl had her eyes." Thought Draco. It was almost impossible for him to be mistaken, it was her eyes. Many times has he looked into her eyes before, yet every time it's more exquisite. He could not have mistaken, the stranger had his one & only love's eyes. Hermione Granger…


	2. Chapter one

Disclaimer( nothing's mine except for the plot. JKR owns it all.  
  
A/N( hey guys, this is my first story. Please R/R it would be real helpful.  
  
Summary( The news of the death of the one girl he truly love shatters Draco's world. Years later, the almost forever lonely Draco Malfoy takes a stroll down the London street, never expecting to find what he lost five years ago.  
  
.: Chapter one :.  
  
"To the class of Hogwarts Year 2006" said the great wizard Dumbledore, as he raised his goblet for a toast.  
  
It was indeed the graduation party, the last moments of school for Hermione Granger before she steps out into the magical world as an educated young woman. Yet she still did not have a clue what she wanted to be. There are so many riddled paths in front of her.  
  
The 18 years old Hermione Granger took these last moments at Hogwarts to reminisce the last seven years of her life, the ups & downs, the tears & laughter & most importantly the hatred & love. For the past seven years, Hermione Granger's life was not so free & simple as it used to be. Complication filled almost everything, from homework to friendships & even feelings. Perhaps all this dramatic changes took place after the loss of her close friend, Ron Weasley. There are things in this world that was never to be understood & perhaps this is one of them. But there is one thing she knows about life & that is, the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love & be loved in return. She knows because she's in love, in love with Draco Malfoy.  
  
.: Flashback :.  
  
She was beautiful, to him & to everyone else at the dance that night. Draco couldn't believe that he was here with very infuriating Pansy rather than Hermione, she girl he recently fell in love with. A few years ago, if someone were to tell him that he would fall in love with a muggle-born, he would've sworn that he'd slap them. But, ever since that night on the Quidditch pitch, all Draco could think about was Hermione.  
  
That night, Draco had decided to do a bit of flying for the forthcoming Quidditch match against Gryffindor. It was pretty late when he had finished training, after getting changed he had began to leaving the pitch when he saw a figure of a girl blindly running towards him. As she got near, Draco could hear her sobbing, head looking down on the floor, running like as if there's no tomorrow. She was running with such a force that when their shoulders collide with Draco's, he was almost knocked over.  
  
"So..Sorry" said the crying girl. "I didn't see you there."  
  
"It's ok, you ok?" Draco asked, he didn't know why he was asking, perhaps curiosity go the better of him or perhaps it was purely by fate.  
  
Draco extended out his pale hands to the crying girl on the floor. She took it without saying anything. When she stood up, a tinge of light rested upon her face, revealing her identity to Draco. He silently gasped. It was Granger, the Mudblood. Her face was red from crying, she look of despair filled her face.  
  
"Thanks" She muttered, as she walked past Draco & into the dark.  
  
"I wondered what happened, where's her boyfriends Potter & Weasel anyways?" Draco thought, letting his curiosity take over. Suddenly, following the young sobbing girl into the darkness became an option for Draco.  
  
It was then Draco saw a piece of parchment lying on the ground. He picked it up, when he opened it; he saw the ink smudged by tears. He assumed it was Hermione's. He had managed to read it though.  
  
Dear Hermione  
  
Hey, sweetheart, how are things at school? You doing fine? Look, I know you must be wondering why I'm sending this letter to you. Well I'm really sorry that you have to find out this way.  
  
Well, recently your father & I have decided for the best that we should get a divorce. We tried & tried but things are never going to work out between us. Hermione, I'm really sorry. Your father & I, we did love each other once but Hermione you have to understand things change, people change.  
  
We are still waiting for the divorce papers to come through. Next week your father & I are going to court to sort out everything. Everything still needs to be finalized. After the divorce, your father is going to move out, he has asked you & Jason to go with him. It is up to your Hermione. I will understand & respect your decision. No matter what happens just remember that I will always love you.  
  
Love Mother  
  
"Divorce aye? I always thought muggle all lived happily ever after" Draco said after reading the half wet letter.  
  
Did he care? It's a mudblood so should he care?  
  
Despite the battle in his head, his feet seemed to make the decision for him. They lead him to a young sobbing girl sitting in the dark. He sat down next to her. Hermione looked up to see Draco Malfoy seating himself down next to her.  
  
"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" She asked through her sobs.  
  
"Is this yours?" He said, handing back the letter to her.  
  
Hermione took it before muttering a quiet thank you to Draco. Their eyes met. Draco saw the sadness in her eyes. He suddenly felt a wave of sympathy towards this girl. The fact that she was a mudblood have suddenly been forgotten. Hermione stared back at Draco's blue eyes; she saw the sincere ness in his eyes, she had forgiven him for the six years of name-calling. They sat there sharing a brief quiet moment before Hermione started to sob again. This time in Draco's arms. He didn't seem to mind at all.  
  
It was a start of a friendship & the greatest love story ever.  
  
.: End Flashback :.  
  
Hermione smiled, it was a beautiful moment. Perhaps the most beautiful moment in her entire life. The day when she realized that she was falling for Draco Malfoy. 


	3. Chapter two

Disclaimerà nothing's mine except for the plot. JKR owns it all. That lucky woman!

A/Nà hey guys, this is my first story. Please R/R it would be real helpful. Thank you so much for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it. thanks! Here's the next chapter.

Summaryà The news of the death of the one girl he truly love shatters Draco's world. Years later, the almost forever lonely Draco Malfoy takes a stroll down the London street, never expecting to find what he lost five years ago.

.: **Chapter two** :.

Draco saw Hermione standing there, smiling to herself. This made Draco smile too. Her smile, it was incredibly beautiful, more than words could ever describe it. She was beautiful & she was _his_..._forever_. At least that's how he felt. He hoped…

It has been almost a year now, since that night on the quidditch pitch. That night, a new bond found it's way between them, he felt it, & so did she. At first Draco brushed it away, trying to convince himself that Draco had only been in the right spot at the right time. The only reason why she cried on his shoulder was because she had no one else, both Potter & Weasley was on a mission. It was all a co-incidence. That what he believed up until a few weeks later, he again found a sobbing Hermione near the lake. It wasn't her parents this time; it was about her best friend & boyfriend Ron Weasley.

Draco remembered it well & clear, that afternoon when he heard the new, seventeen years old Ronald Weasley was killed in action. The war against Voldemort had begun two months ago & yet Weasley is the 297th casualty. It was a big loss to everyone on the light side, especially Hermione.

He found her later in the evening; she was a lonely figure sitting by the lake, he head down, resting upon her knees. He took a seat beside her; she didn't seem to realize that he was there.

"I'm really sorry" Draco said, a voice little louder than a whisper. He watched her.

Hermione looked up, their eyes met again then it happened like last time, she cried on his shoulders, he was there for he, he helped her out of her misery, the loss of her best friend & boyfriend, Ron Weasley. It couldn't all be coincidence now could it?

Soon after that agonizing event, their friendship had bloomed into love. Draco often found himself thinking about Hermione & Hermione did the same. Often during the night, they would sneak out of their dorms & meet each other.

But they had to keep it in secrecy. Telling everyone about their love would just spice everything up with complications. Besides what would Draco's father say about all this? Knowing his father Draco knew it just wasn't worth it, so they had to keep it a secret.

But he knew that secrets can't be kept forever, it will expose itself sometime, one way or another. He only hoped that it wouldn't be exposed too soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pansy watched it all, instead of toasting to that old fool Dumbledore, she watched them. Draco & that mudblood Granger both smiling & daydreaming. It had been quite sometime now that she suspected there was something going on between Draco & Granger. In the past year, she often found Draco returning back to the common in the early morning, she often found himself smiling to himself & she often found him daydreaming. Draco became distant, he no longer hang out with Crabbe & Goyle. He had hardly spoken to any of his Slytherin mates. Worst of all, Pansy frequently caught Draco giving glances to Granger. 

Pansy was disgusted. Granger was a mudblood, how dare she interact with her Draco, let alone a pureblood. Watching those two made Pansy sick, she was furious. She had to do something, before Draco places a ring on a mudblood's finger.

"She doesn't deserve my Draco, she thinks she's better than me with all her books & know-it-all attitude! I'll show her, you just wait!" Pansy said watching Draco giving Hermione a flirtatious wink. 

Pansy had enough of this, she is going to make sure that it's her finger that Draco slips the ring on. With that, Pansy left the cheery festivity & set off to the owlery.

~~~~~~~~~

"So where to from here miss Granger?" Draco carefully whispered, looking around to find no one looking, everyone was busy dancing or talking to their partners.

"Well, I was thinking of becoming a minister for the department of magical creatures & welfare, you know promoting SPEW at the ministry, fighting for Elf rights" Said Hermione, knowing Draco, he was so sick on the hours & hours of debating between them about house elf rights.

Draco only rolled his eyes. Is she ever going to give up?

"Shh, this is a good moment, don't let the house elves spoil it" he replied.

"So? What's going to happen to you?" She asked.

"Well, the first thing I wanted to do was to umm, make miss Granger change her last name" He said whispering in her ear.

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Well.." he said carefully pulling out a small ring box from his pocket. "This is just a promise ring, to promise that you'll be mine forever"

Hermione couldn't help the tears in her eyes. She tried to restrained it from coming down, she found it hard not to.

"So…is that a yea you will you accept it?"

Hermione only nodded. She smiled as Draco put the ring on her lovely delicate finger. They kissed briefly before going separate ways incase someone saw them.

Hermione smiled as she trace the words 'I'll be yours forever' with her finger on her ring. 

~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the party was nothing but fun, for the first time in a year, Hermione & Harry seemed to forget about all the dark things that had happened, they forgot about Sirius's death, Ron's death & Voldemort's defeat.  It was the first time they were not burdened by misery. 

When Hermione arrived back at her dorm at around midnight, she found an owl outside her window, she knew by the colour instantly that it was Draco's owl. She opened her window to let the owl in. It was a letter from Draco. She quickly opened it.

_Dear My Sweet Hermione_

After graduation, my father has requested me to stay with my mother for a while. So I'm guessing that we'll not see each other for sometime. I'm really going to miss you, but don't be sad, we'll see owl each other everyday. It's not like we're never going to see each other ever again.

Tomorrow at the train station, my father will be there to pick me up, so I'm really sorry that I can't give you a proper good bye & that I have to write my good bye down on a piece of paper. I love you Hermione & I can't wait till I next see you again.  Until then, I just want to let you know that you'll always be in my heart & I'll always think of you.

Forever yours

_Draco_

Hermione smiled faintly, she was sick & tired of them hiding in the dark, not being able to met in public. But she knew it was for the best. She carefully placed the letter in her already packed trunk, before she set off to bed.

"Forever yours" She whispered before falling asleep.

A/Nà I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please r/r Also if anyone want to receive an email from me when I update please indicate & leave your email address.


	4. Chapter three

Disclaimer - nothing's mine except for the plot & perhaps some unknown character I might make up later in the story. JKR owns it all. 

A/N - hey guys, this is my first story. Please R/R it would be real helpful. Thank you so much for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it. Thanks! Here's the next chapter. 

Summary - The news of the death of the one girl he truly love shatters Draco's world. Years later, the almost forever lonely Draco Malfoy takes a stroll down the London street, never expecting to find what he lost five years ago.

.: **Chapter Three** :.

It was late into the cold dark night when Lucius Malfoy discovered an owl outside his window. He carelessly opened the window to let over joyed black owl in. 

"Who could be sending an owl at this hour?" he asked himself.

He was soon to discover that the owl belonged to the Parkinson family. After reading the nametag at the owl's collar, he took the piece of parchment from the owl.

_Dear Mr. Malfoy_

_Hello, it's Pansy Parkinson here. You must be wondering why I'm writing to you at this hour. Well I would just like to inform about some matter that is rather important concerning your son, Draco._

Over the past months or so, I have heard rumors from a reliable source that your son Draco is having associations with a mudblood. Seeing the fact that Draco comes from such an admirable & respectable family, I did not believe it at first. But early this very night, I witnessed myself the disgraceful event. You see, I Pansy saw Draco Malfoy kiss Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor Mudblood.

_I thought that it is for Draco's good that I inform you at once, because Draco is so lucky to come from such a decent family that I cannot just sit here & watch him make the mistakes._

_I hope you'll be able to guide Draco through his mistakes._

_Pansy Parkinson_

After reading the letter, Lucius was none other than furious. He had torn the letter into pieces before throwing it with all his might into the fire. 

"How dare he!" He whispered angrily. "Perhaps I shall visit his little Mudblood girlfriend!". 

With that, the fuming Lucius was left to come up with a plan to 'help' Draco, his son from the biggest mistake he's made, Falling in love with a mudblood, not just any mudblood, Potter's Mudblood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione woke up in the morning with a sleepy groan. She could clearly hear Lavender & Parvati fighting over the bathroom.

"Oh god, not again. Is it really that hard for them to shut up?" she asked herself, still half asleep.

Hermione had decided to give in, she hid under her pillow, hoping to get a few extra minutes of sleeping. She, however failed miserably to regain to her sleep conscious after Lavender shaking her violent, asking her where her mascara is. 

"Get up!! Hermione, you're going to be late!" Lavender said, pulling away Hermione's pillow, letting Hermione's face to be exposed to bright sun light. 

After about few minutes of nagging, Hermione finally had given up. She threw on her pair of cords & a black top. After a proper dose of cold water running down her face, Hermione was fully awake. She made sure that all her belongings are neatly packed in her trunks before going off to breakfast. When she entered the Great Hall, a blend of excitement & agitation filled inside her. This was her last moment at Hogwarts, she was happy & gloomy at the same time, Happy that she would be given the opportunity to conquer the world, sad that she had to leave this place where she had grown attached to in the past seven years. Now, she had to leave, was she ready? She truly did not know.

Hermione seated herself down next to Harry on the Gryffindor tables for the last time. She watched as everyone from seventh year chatted away happily. A grin split her face, for her to see everyone especially Harry so happy after the dark war, was something that she couldn't help smile about. She was later joined by Lavender & Parvati (finally after their brawl over the bathroom), who were busy talking about their future husband. 

"What about you Hermione? Any expectations of your husband?" Lavender asked.

Hermione looked up from her cereal, she instantly gave them the answer they were expecting.

"Nope" she answered, going back to her breakfast. When Parvati & Lavender were going back to their own conversations, Hermione quickly glanced over at the Slytherin table. She smiled looking down at her ring, she knew exactly what her husband would be like.

~~~~~~~~~~

After a not so short time in the bathroom, Pansy finally went down to breakfast. Pansy looked over to the Gryffindor table, the mudblood was there, talking to that damn potter boy. She smirked, Pansy knew _exactly_ what was going to happen when she receives a visit from Mr. Malfoy. 

"Such a pity, she had to mess with me." Pansy said in a mocking sympathetic tone, as she smirked & headed off to _her _Draco.

"Morning" She said sitting opposite Draco.

"Morning Pansy" Crabbe & Goyle said in simultaneously, without looking away from their food.

Pansy glared at them, they knew perfectly well that _all_ her 'good mornings' & other flirtatious comments were _only_ made to Draco. She looked up to find Draco in some sort of daydream again. Pansy was enraged, how dared someone ignore her. 

"I said Morning Draco!" She snapped.

But to her already building fury, Draco didn't respond. 

"DRACO!" She said, waving her hand in front of her face, hoping that this might get his rather divided attention.

"What?" Draco said, still in a dreamy tone, looking towards the Gryffindor table.

"Wait till he visits her!" she snapped, before storming out of the great hall, causing lots of unwanted stares.

"huh? Who visits who?" Asked Draco, but he instantly shrugged off Pansy's comment, underestimating the importance of it. 

~~~~~~~~~

The seventh year's train ride had been rather exciting, with all the planning of their futures & all the promises of keeping in touch. Hermione received many hugs & promises from her friends, even Parvati & Lavender had promise to keep in touch (Much to Hermione's disappoint, They were planning a make-over outing, however, Hermione accepted the offer). 

When finally Harry & Hermione had received visits from everyone (All the Gryffindors), they were almost at King's Cross.

"It's strange isn't it? Without him." Harry said, it was the first time he had spoken about him, after Ron's tragic death.

Hermione gave a faint smile & nodded. She could hear a melancholic tone in his voice; Hermione knew it how much it hurt for Harry to talk about Ron. It hurt her too, but she had moved on. Something that Harry needed to do.

"Hey, listen Harry. You need to move on. Stop blaming yourself for it. It wasn't your fault. Ron wouldn't want you to be like this. Harry, you need to move on" Hermione gave Harry a pleading look.

Harry's eyes met Hermione's. He could tell from the sadness in her eyes that she dearly missed her friends. He did too, he missed both Ron & his old self. Harry was about to answer when Hermione continued.

"Harry, I've moved on, it was painful at first but I did it. But, I still feel him with me, yes Harry, all the time." Hermione was in tears by now. "He's not gone, he's here" She said placing a hand on her chest. "He's here, in my heart."

After all this time, it was Hermione's words that shredded him into tears. She was right.

"Harry…"

Harry didn't let her continue, he hugged her. Her words, they were so painful to hear but yet they were right. She was right, he thought. Ron isn't gone, at least in his heart, Ron Weasley will always be Harry's best friend.

"He's here Harry, here forever." Hermione whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~

Draco had finally managed to get rid of Crabbe & Goyle, when the food trolley had arrived. He was glad to be left alone for awhile. They had been constantly bothering him with useless & dim questions. He managed to sneak out of the compartment when they were busy ordering food.  

Draco was searching for an empty compartment when he walked past Hermione's compartment. She was crying, his Hermione was crying. As much as he wanted to go in there to comfort her, he couldn't. 

Seeing the sight of her crying made Draco forlorn too. He knew exactly why. Over the past year, ever since Weasley's death, he often found Hermione crying all alone. It wasn't until Draco confessed his true feelings, she had come out of her dark depression.

:: flashback ::

Quidditch season had just begun. Draco, being the captain of the Slytherin team had been training almost every single day. The first game was approaching. No matter how many points Snape tried to take off other houses, it just wasn't enough for Slytherin to win the house cup. It has been years since Slytherin last won. Draco had to make sure he played his best in the upcoming Quidditch game. Draco had trained until it was completely dark & it was almost impossible to see anything. 

As usual, it was the sky was in complete darkness. Draco had just came back from Quidditch practice, he was already running late for his prefect duties. After changing as fast as he can he began to roam around the corridors of Hogwarts, in search of disobedient students wandering freely. 

When Draco arrived at the astronomy tower, he did not expect a solitary figure sitting by the window, crying. After his few seconds of alarm, he realized who it was. He took a seat beside her, he knew exactly why she was crying.

"Malfoy? What…what are you doing here?" She looked up, her wet face full of despair.

Ignoring her question, Draco took a seat beside Hermione. He handed her a tissue.

"Why do you torture yourself like this?" Draco asked, looking straight into her soaked brown eyes.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." She replied, looking away as if she's trying to avoid the question.

"Come on, you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about Granger. I hear you every night, crying to yourself."

Hermione looked away, she didn't want to be confronted by Draco right now.

"Look, I know it's hard. But you shouldn't do this to yourself. It's not healthy." He paused for a moment, hesitating whether to say what was on his mind. "My…my sister, she passed away last year. She was the only thing that actually mattered to me other than mother. When I found out that she had passed away, I didn't know what to think. It was hurtful. I was just like you, but you what? The difference between you now & me back then, was that I moved on. Hermione, I've moved on, it was painful at first, but I did it. My sister, she's not gone. She still here, with me, in my heart. She'll always be in my heart. It's about time you do the same thing Hermione."

For the first time, Hermione took a good look at Draco. At this point, he too looked away. Then she saw it, in his eyes was despair. Hermione reached out her hand to brush off his tears.

Draco grabbed her hands before she was about to withdraw them.

"Hermione, I know I'm not him & I'm not trying to be him. But, please will you give me a chance?" Draco asked, looking into Hermione's eyes. 

It was there, when Draco helped Hermione come out of her Depression, it was then they had shared the incredible view of the lake, in each other's arms.

:: End flashback ::

Over the year now, things between Draco & Hermione had never been better. Sure Draco had to admit sometimes Hermione is still miserable about Weasley's death, but he couldn't blame her because he knew exactly how she felt. Sometimes he still wished his sister, Venus Malfoy was still alive. 

With that, he had decided to return to Crabbe & Goyle's compartment.

A/N – sheesh, that took awhile. Anyways, I'd just like to thank my reviewers.

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Thank you guys so much for the support & everything. I wouldn't of continued if it wasn't for your reviews. Thanks!


	5. Note

Dear readers & reviewers

I'm so sorry, I've been heaps busy with stuff that I can't seem to find the time to write the next chapter. But I promise I'll update very soon! 

Essence


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